Make or break time

When I was growing up, labor unions were very powerful.  When John Lewis or Walter Reuther said something, it appeared in most newspapers.  Politicians had to consider and mollify the unions.  Overall, the influence labor had in the 20th century was good for the country, as it reduced inequality. In the 21st century labor unions have become almost an afterthought. Richard Trumka, the head of the AFL-CIO wants to restore labor's sway in American life. 

Trumka wants unions to accept as members those who are, in fact, not members of a union.  For example, he would allow those who failed to unionize their workplace to join a union.  And he would welcome laborers who have not tried to establish a union in their workplace.  In fact, he would go beyond increasing union membership by building coalitions with organizations such as the NAACP or the Sierra Club, all under the banner of the AFL-CIO.  

As Gary N. Chaison, an industrial relations professor at Clark University, says: “Unions are thrashing around looking for answers. It just might prove successful from the very fact that there is great desperation to it. There’s a sense that this is make-or-break time for labor. Either major things are done, or it will be too late to resuscitate the labor movement.”